‘Hairspray’ Cast Then and Now

‘Hairspray’

The musical “Hairspray” wowed Broadway in the summer 2002 and went on to win eight Tony Awards, including the top trophy for new musical. Based on the 1988 John Waters movie that starred a young Ricki Lake, the 1960s-set musical centers on zaftig teen Tracy, whose quest to appear on the “American Bandstand”-like “Corny Collins Show” introduces her to the civil rights movement. The musical version of “Hairspray” in turn inspired a 2007 movie adaptation directed by Adam Shankman before NBC chose to revive the show for its latest live musical telecast, “Hairspray Live!” Here’s a look at who’s played the biggest parts of “Hairspray” on Broadway, on the big screen, and now on TV.

Courtesy of NBC

Tracy Turnblad

Marissa Jaret Winokur/Nikki Blonsky/Maddie Baillio

Tracy is the big heart of “Hairspray,” and its dancing feet. The role of Tracy was originated onstage by Marissa Jaret Winokur, who’d previously had a Broadway gig in “Grease” but found a Tony-winning breakout role in “Hairspray.” Since then she’s had TV work in shows like “Stacked,” “Retired at 35,” “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Talk.” In the movie, Tracy was played by newcomer Nikki Blonsky (she was working at a Cold Stone Creamery when she was cast), a young actress who’s since starred in short-lived ABC Family series “Huge.” Another newcomer landed the role of Tracy in “Hairsrpay Live!”: Maddie Baillio, a Marymount Manhattan College sophomore, making her professional debut in the telecast.

Courtesy of REX/Shutterstock/NBC

Edna Turnblad

Harvey Fierstein/John Travolta/Harvey Fierstein

On stage, Tracy’s mother Edna is always played by a man — in a nod to Divine, the drag queen who appeared in a slew of Waters films and played Edna in the 1988 movie. Harvey Fierstein, the longtime Broadway writer-actor (“Torch Song Trilogy,” “La Cage Aux Folles”) won a Tony for his warm, gravelly turn in the part. It was such a definitive performance that it’s no wonder NBC turned back to Fierstein for the live telecast, after John Travolta’s tried his hand at the role in the 2007 movie.

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Wilbur Turnblad

Dick Latessa/Christopher Walken/Martin Short

Novelty store proprietor Wilbur — Edna’s husband and Tracy’s father — was played on Broadway in a Tony-winning turn by theater-world veteran Dick Latessa, whose credits included the original production of “Follies” and, most recently, the 2012 play “The Lyons. Sadly, Latessa passed away in December 2016. ” Christopher Walken played opposite Travolta in the 2007 movie, while NBC has cannily tapped Martin Short to play the Turnblads’ loyal prankster.

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Link Larkin

Matthew Morrison/Zac Efron/Garrett Clayton

Broadway’s original Link Larkin, the show’s teenage heartthrob, was a young actor named Matthew Morrison, who after major roles in Broadway’s “The Light in the Piazza” and “South Pacific” went on to play glee club director Will Schuester in six seasons of “Glee.” (In 2015 he returned to Broadway in “Finding Neverland.”) The movie musical cast real-life teen heartthrob Zac Efron, fresh off his breakout in the “High School Musical” franchise, to play Link, while Garrett Clayton, the dreamboat lead of another Disney Channel franchise, “Teen Beach Movie,” plays Link for NBC.

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Motormouth Maybelle

Mary Bond Davis/Queen Latifah/Jennifer Hudson

In the original Broadway cast, Motormouth Maybelle — R&B DJ, mother of Seaweed and Little Inez, and the host of “The Corny Collins Show” on the one day a month African-American kids are allowed to appear on it — was played by Mary Bond Davis, a stage veteran whose credits include “Jelly’s Last Jam,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and the movie “Coming to America.” Queen Latifah took on the role, and its signature number “I Know Where I’ve Been,” for the 2007 movie, while “Dreamgirls” star Jennifer Hudson will don Motormouth’s blonde wig for NBC.

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Velma Von Tussle

Linda Hart/Michelle Pfeiffer/Kristin Chenoweth

Every story needs a baddie, and Velma, the skinny blonde racist who produces “The Corny Collins Show,” is “Hairspray’s.” Linda Hart originated the part that Michelle Pfeiffer played in the movie, but it’s tough to think of better casting than Broadway favorite Kristin Chenoweth, who play Velma on NBC.

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Amber Von Tussle

Laura Bell Bundy/Brittany Snow/Dove Cameron

Amber, Velma’s mean-girl daughter, was played on Broadway by Laura Bell Bundy (who went on to play Elle Woods in the “Legally Blonde” musical) and then in the movie by Brittany Snow (“American Dreams,” “Pitch Perfect”). For NBC, Disney Channel star Dove Cameron (“Liv and Maddie”) reunites with Chenoweth, who previously played Cameron’s mother (and “Snow White” villain Maleficent) in Disney Channel movie “Descendents.”

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Penny Pingleton

Kerry Butler/Amanda Bynes/Ariana Grande

As Tracy’s quirky friend Penny, Kerry Butler (“Xanadu,” the recent “Disaster!”) was nominated for a Tony. Amanda Bynes (“The Amanda Show,” “What I Like About You”) played her in the movie, while NBC snagged a big music name (and former Nickelodeon star) with a big voice: Ariana Grande.

Courtesy of REX/Shutterstock/NBC

Seaweed J. Stubbs

Corey Reynolds/Elijah Kelley/Ephraim Sykes

Penny shocks her uptight mother by embarking on a romance with Seaweed, played by Corey Reynolds on Broadway before he became a series regular in TNT series “The Closer.” Elijah Kelly, who played Seaweed in the 2007 movie, was more recently seen as the Scarescrow in NBC’s “The Wiz Live!,” while NBC’s Seaweed, Ephraim Sykes, comes to the part after a recurring role in HBO’s “Vinyl.”

Courtesy of REX/Shutterstock/NBC

Corny Collins

Clarke Thorell/James Marsden/Derek Hough

Clarke Thorell played Corny Collins, host of the “American Bandstand”-like show around which “Hairspray” revolves, on Broadway, where he subsequently played Rooster Hannigan in “Annie” and is currently on the boards in “The Front Page.” James Marsden (“X-Men,” “Westworld”), who also showed off his singing in 2007 musical “Enchanted,” played the part in the movie. “Dancing with the Stars” pro Derek Hough steps into Corny’s shoes on NBC.